Killing of Ekramul Haque refers to the extrajudicial killing of Ekramul Haque, councillor of Teknaf Municipality Ward three, by a unit of
Rapid Action Battalion
Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ba ...
.
That resulted in the first usage of the
Magnitsky Act
The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...
against Bangladeshi officials.
Events
Ekramul Haque was a trader who had been elected councilor of
Teknaf Municipality three times in a row as a candidate of
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
.
Haque was a former President of Teknaf unit of
Jubo League
The Bangladesh Awami Jubo League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী যুবলীগ) commonly known as the Jubo League, is the first youth organization of Bangladesh founded by Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani. It is the youth wing o ...
, the youth wing of Awami League, for 13 years.
Bangladesh government was carrying a crackdown on the narcotics trade and the death of more than a 100 suspects in shoot-outs with law enforcement agencies. Since 2018 more than 200 individuals were killed in extrajudicial shootings by law enforcement agencies in Teknaf alone.
On 27 May 2018, Ekramul Haque was killed in a gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion led by Squadron Leader Mohammad Rezaul Haque.
Major Md Ruhul Amin, Company Commander of Rapid Action Battalion-7, said there was a gunfight and then they found his body.
They also recovered 10,000 pieces of
Ya ba
''Ya ba'' ( th, ยาบ้า, lo, ຢາບ້າ, literally 'crazy medicine'), formerly known as ''yama'' ( th, ยาม้า; literally 'horse drug'), also known as "bikers' coffee" and "kamikaze", are tablets containing a mixture of met ...
and two guns.
Ranjit Kumar Barua, Officer in Charge of Tekhnaf Police Station, told the
Dhaka Tribune
The ''Dhaka Tribune'' is a major Bangladeshi English-language daily newspaper based in Dhaka, the country's capital and largest city. It also operates an online Bengali version known as the ''Bangla Tribune''. The newspaper has a strong readershi ...
that Haque was a listed as a drug dealer by the
Ministry of Home Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
.
Haque's brother, Ehsanul Haque Bahadur, said that his brother was picked by intelligence agents who told him that they wanted to discuss a real estate deal.
Squadron Leader Nazmus Sakib was the head of the Tekhnaf Unit of
Directorate General of Forces Intelligence
The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...
was also involved in the shooting.
Lieutenant Colonel
Miftah Uddin Ahmed who was Commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion-7 called Hoque a "godfather of Ya ba". Major Amin said Haque was listed as a top drug dealer with the
Department of Narcotics Control
Department of Narcotics Control is the main government agency responsible for narcotics control in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous ...
but the local official of Department of Narcotics Control denied knowing of any cases filed by the department against Haque.
Claims of Haque being a drug dealer were denied by his wife and Jabed Iqbal Chowdhury, President of Tekhnaf unit of
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
.
Audio leak
A recording of the last phone call was leaked in which Haque was talking on the phone with his wife, Ayesha Begum, on 26 May 2018, one day before the reported shootout.
The screaming of Haque's wife and daughters could be heard in the call.
The sound of a gun fire and the groaning of a man could be heard on the call.
Ayesha called the killing a "pre planned murder".
She said that an intelligence officer had pressuring Haque for help to buy a land on the Marine drive road.
The claims were denied by the director of Rapid Action Battalion's legal and media wing Mufti Mahmud Khan.
Reaction
Hoque's family campaigned for justice while receiving threats from security forces.
They were asked to not speak to the media. Bangladesh government created an investigation team to look into the shooting after the audio call was leaked.
On 10 December 2021, the United States approved sanctions against seven current and former officers of Rapid Action Battalion under the
Magnitsky Act
The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...
, the first Bangladeshi officials to face sanctions under the act.
Those charged included Inspector General of Police
Benazir Ahmed,
who is also the former Director General of Rapid Action Battalion, the present Director General of Rapid Action Battalion
Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Additional Director General (operations) Colonel
Khan Mohammad Azad, Former Additional Director General (operations) Colonel
Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, Former Additional Director General (operations) Colonel
Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Former Additional Director General (operations) Colonel
Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan and Lieutenant Colonel
Miftah Uddin Ahmed.
References
{{Reflist
Murder in Bangladesh
2018 murders in Bangladesh